Neil Warnock accepts he does not have time to lay long-term plans at Cardiff.
But the veteran manager, who succeeded the sacked Paul Trollope on Wednesday, is confident in his ability to turn the Championship strugglers into promotion contenders.
The Bluebirds are 23rd in the division after collecting just eight points from their opening 11 games.
Warnock, 67, guided Rotherham to safety last season but believes he can go further with the Welsh club and secure what would be a record eighth career promotion.
Yet how long he has to complete the task he accepts depends on results. Neither Warnock nor the club have given details of his contract and the former Sheffield United and Crystal Palace boss says he has happy to work without job security.
Warnock, speaking at a news conference shown on the club's website, said: "I don't think you can say anything is long term. I think you should only look to tomorrow. You should only look about building a club as far as you can.
"You go on the ride and hope you can take it where you want to go. In the Championship, if you start looking long-term, I think it is all talk. You have got to be good enough to do the job.
"The chairman and I have spoken at great length. We have got to see where we go. When he told me I was his number one choice I said I would come. We hadn't even discussed contracts. That is how we are. We will play it by ear."
Cardiff are the 15th club on Warnock's managerial CV, six of which he took to promotion. With two promotions at Notts County, he has overseen seven in total and he is hungry for more, possibly even this season.
Warnock, whose first game comes against Bristol City on Oct. 14, said: "That is what I want to do before the end of my career. Nobody else has done that.
"You've got to have ambitions and challenges and that is the last challenge I think I have got in my career to do, and I hope I can achieve that while I am here.
"This [club] is geared to being higher than it is. We've all got to pull our fingers out and try to get us into a safety position as soon as possible and then you never know in football. There are a lot of games left."
Warnock claims he has been rejected for other jobs since leaving Rotherham in the summer and is looking forward to proving a point. He feels some clubs have been misguided in their appointments.
He said: "I have been disappointed when I have seen some of the other appointments this year, but that has made me more hungry to show what I can do. Here I have got a chairman and fans who I know will get behind me.
"The clubs I missed out on I texted them all this week to say, 'See you soon.' I'm looking forward to it. It drives me on to get results.
"I love passion. I don't see any point of 20 passes to get to the halfway line. I am not saying I won't want passing, but I think in football these days you can get diplomas and people think that entitles you to become a manager.
"I think there is no substitute for man-management and experience."